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6/19/2021

The study confirmed that eating pork might induce some false accusations of the abuse of nandrolone in anti-doping.

What is nandrolone? As defined by the National Library of Medicine, nandrolone is a synthetic, anabolic steroid analog of testosterone.

The NIH states nandrolone can be used for testosterone replacement therapy to increase nitrogen retention and fat-free muscle mass.

In bodybuilders, the use of androgenic-anabolic steroids to increase muscle mass is common.

Nandrolone decanoate is one of the most popular misused androgenic-anabolic steroids, although the effects on body composition are equivocal.

The use of androgenic-anabolic steroids, such as nandrolone, is common in bodybuildersCredit: Getty

Is it found in pork?

A study by the National Library of Medicine revealed that the consumption of pork can cause irregularly high levels of nandrolone.

Then NLM conducted a study using the urine of three male volunteers who consumed 310 grams of pork, which could be the meat, liver, heart and kidney.

According to the study, the three individuals delivered urine samples before and during 24 hours after meal intake.

Nearly 10 hours after the participants ate pork, the report showed high levels of nandrolone.

The consumption of pork can cause a high level of nandrolone within a 24-hour period of consumptionCredit: Getty

"19-NA and 19-NE concentrations in urine reached 3.1 to 7.5 microg/L nearby 10 hours after boar tissue consumption," the NLM reported in their study.

The study confirmed that eating pork might induce some false accusations of the abuse of nandrolone in anti-doping.

What did Shelby Houlihan say caused the high level of nandrolone?

In an Instagram post announcing her suspension, Houlihan claimed she had “never even heard of nandrolone” and blamed a contaminated pork burrito she ate 10 hours before the positive test in January.

Houlihan insisted that ingesting the anabolic steroid must have inadvertently come from eating a burrito “from an authentic Mexican food truck that serves pig offal near my house in Beaverton, Oregon” 10 hours before a 6am drugs test last December.

(06/15/21) Views: 124

Well known Kenyan coach Joseph K Ngure joins the Kenyan Athletics Training Academy

Joseph K. Ngure has joined the Kenyan Athletics Training Academy staff as Director of Education and Race Director.  

"He comes with lots of experience," says Bob Anderson (pictured with Joseph) managing director of the Academy in Thika.   "He is a senior coach and AK certified official.  He has been a school teacher and most recently was the head coach at Run2gether.  He also brought Mountain Running to Kenya."

The Kenyan Athletics Training Academy is a unique facility offering training, education and for those living there an excellent meal plan and a pleasant atmosphere so athletes can focus on their running.

The staff and staff-athletes at the Academy welcome other athletes interested in improving, setting new PR's and hopefully winning races.  The top athlete currently training at the Academy is Joel Maina, a 1:00:40 half marathoner.

The cost for a shared room is just 10k KES per week for a Kenyan Citizen.  Or just $29US per night for non-citizens.  Private rooms are also available.   

"I met Joseph during our trip in January 2020 to Kenya," says Bob Anderson.  "I found him to be very personable and knowledgeable. He was working as head coach for the Run2gether camp at the time."

Joseph left Run2gether earlier this year and contacted Bob Anderson about wanting to join his staff at the unique new project he had going in Thika.

Joseph took the job and says: “I have been involved in athletics on different levels and have learnt a lot.  With the evolution and the dynamism in the sport, new approaches and professionalism need to be injected in order to move to the next level.

“I will work with the staff at our Kenyan Athletics Training Academy  and offer expertise in competition organisaton, lias with grassroots and national federations to make sure the objectives of the Academy are achieved.”

Several unique and standard races are being planned along with time trials. 

Joseph continued, “With the state-of-the-art facility in Thika new talents in the neighboring regions and elite runners will get wholestic training in preparation for local and international competitions 

"I wish to lay strong tradition and culture of discipline, team work and integrity in accordance with World Athletics, Athletics Keny and AIU.   More so inject the spirit of sportsmanship and respect to the sport and to the individual.”

The Academy is unofficially open now and the official opening date is September 1.  A grand opening along with a race is being planned.  

(06/17/21) Views: 109

Kenya's Faith Kipyegon thinking about a Tokyo double

Fresh from breaking her own 1,5000m Kenyan record at Florence Diamond League, in Italy, on Thursday, Faith Chepng’etich is spoilt for choice on which races to run at the Tokyo Olympic Games beckon.

Chepng’etich, who is the reigning Olympics 1,500m champion, has the liberty of either defending her title or going for 800m honours at the Tokyo Games due on July 23 to August 8 at the Japanese capital.

Pundits are also floating another idea of the world 1,500m silver medallist doubling up in 1,500m and 800m in Tokyo.

Incidentally, Kenya won its maiden medal from the Olympics through Wilson Kiprugut at the 1964 Tokyo Games in the 800m.

“It poses something to think about and I am yet to decide,” said Chepng’etich when asked whether she will consider doing a double in Tokyo.

Chepng’etich cruised to a Kenya record time of three minutes and 53.91 seconds to finish second behind Sifan Hassan from the Netherlands in Florence. 

“It was a good race and it gives me a hint on where to work on with my coach,” said Chepng’etich, who had attained the Tokyo Olympics qualifying standard with a winning time of  1:58.26 at the Doha Diamond League on May 28.

Hassan, who had freshly set a short-lived new world record in 10,000m at her home country, clocked a world lead and meet record 3:53.63 in what was a replica of the 1,500m final at the 2019 World Championships in Doha.

It was at the world event where Chepng’etich claimed a national record of 3:54.22 in 1,500m after settling for silver as Hassan won in a European and Netherlands record of 3:51.95.

Running both the 1,500 and 800m will be tricky for any athlete.

The 800m heats will be held July 30 followed by the semi-finals the following day and the final on August 3. The 1,500m heats will be staged on August 2 followed by the semis on August 4 and final on August 6.

(06/12/21) Views: 105
Ayumba Ayodi

Race walking mixed team to debut at Paris 2024 Olympics

A race walking mixed team event is set to make its Olympic debut at Paris 2024, following confirmation from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board that it will be the mixed-gender contest added to the athletics programme.

The IOC Executive Board previously decided that the number of athletics events should stay at 48 for Paris - which led to the men's 50-kilometre race walk being dropped in favour of a mixed-gender event in the quest for gender equality.

World Athletics and the IOC have agreed that this will be a race walking event, although the competition format - including the distance and the number of athletes in each team - has not been chosen yet.

A proposal for the format is due to be presented to the IOC Executive Board in December.

The Executive Board has also approved World Sailing's proposal to scrap the mixed kiteboarding event and instead have men's and women's contests.

This was World Sailing's first alternative option in place of mixed offshore, which was removed from the programme after concerns were raised by the IOC.

These included additional broadcasting costs and the field-of-play security.

Sailing will maintain 10 medal events, with kiteboading - set for an Olympic debut at Paris 2024 - now accounting for two of them.

Additionally, the IOC Executive Board approved the new competition format for modern pentathlon, which is set to be based in one venue.

As proposed by the International Modern Pentathlon Union, this 90-minute competition begins with riding, followed by the fencing bonus round and swimming, before closing with the laser-run.

Breaks of between five and 15 minutes will occur between each discipline.

The equestrian leg lasts 20 minutes, followed by 15 minutes of fencing, 10 minutes of swimming and 15 minutes for the laser-run.

The Paris 2024 Olympics, scheduled to take place from July 26 to August 11, will be the first fully gender-balanced Games, with exactly 50 per cent male and female participation, says the IOC.

 

(06/15/21) Views: 72
Michael Houston

Grandma’s Marathon founder Scott Keenan has published a new book documenting his journey of bringing the event from just 150 runners in 1977 to one of the most respected road race in USA

My Journey to Grandma’s Marathon: History and Heroes focuses on the people involved in bringing Grandma’s Marathon to prominence, ranging from early champions like Garry Bjorklund and Dick Beardsley to longtime journalists who covered the race like Kevin Pates.

Keenan, who spoke about his book on the “Gearing Up for Grandma’s” podcast, admitted the writing process came with challenges, but he thought it necessary to chronicle the evolution of the event and recognize lots of the people responsible.

“We had to do something special back then. We had to invite the world to Grandma’s Marathon, and we did,” he said. “We had the great race course, the great location, we just needed the organization to put on a good race. It was very important to me to try and take running to a new level in the Duluth area, and I’m so proud of what’s been built with Grandma’s Marathon.”

The full “Gearing Up for Grandma’s” video podcast featuring Keenan will debut as part of the virtual 2021 Essentia Health Fitness Expo at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 17.

During Keenan’s tenure, Grandma’s Marathon grew to be one of the largest marathons in the country and now welcomes more than 20,000 runners to Duluth and the surrounding region each year. The race also played host to nine national championships, something he points to as one of his proudest moments during his time with the race.

The book costs $17.99 and can be bought online at scottkeenanbooks.com. A portion of all proceeds will go to benefit the Young Athletes Foundation (YAF), which is the charitable piece of Grandma’s Marathon that provides money and resources to local youth organizations to help keep the area’s kids active and healthy.

Keenan, who served as the race’s executive director for 37 years before retiring in 2013, will also be selling and signing copies of his new book during this year’s in-person Essentia Health Fitness Expo on race weekend. He will be available from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Friday, June 18 in Pioneer Hall at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC).

(06/15/21) Views: 69
Running USA

Shelby Houlihan says she ate a pork burrito before her drug test and this is why she tested positive.

Olympic runner Shelby Houlihan said she has been banned from the sport for four years following a positive test for anabolic steroids that she attributes to eating a pork burrito.

Houlihan said she was devastated to learn of the suspension from the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), an independent body that combats doping, after she tested positive for nandrolone.

Houlihan said in a post on Instagram Monday that a burrito she ate before the test contained pig organ meat, or offal, which she said can lead to a positive test for nandrolone. A study funded by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) found trace amounts of nandrolone can be found in that kind of meat and warned about the possibility of a false positive.

The ban will prevent the 28-year-old from competing in upcoming US Olympic Trials and the Tokyo Olympic Games. Doping accusations and investigations have led to multiple bans of athletes and even entire countries from competing, including a two-year ban on Russia from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The runner said she received an email from AIU on January 14, 2021, informing her that a drug test she took December 15, 2020, returned positive for nandrolone.

"When I got that email, I had to read it over about ten times and google what it was that I had just tested positive for," she said in the post. "I had never even heard of nandrolone."

(06/15/21) Views: 59

Sifan Hassan will tackle the mile at Müller British Grand Prix on July 13

Dutch endurance running phenomenon races over the classic distance at Wanda Diamond League event in Gateshead on July 13.

Sifan Hassan is the world record-holder in the mile and she is coming to the North East of England on Tuesday July 13 to race over that distance at the Müller British Grand Prix.

The 28-year-old’s mile record is 4:12.33 and she has been in terrific form this summer with a world 10,000m record in Hengelo on Sunday (June 6) and a big win in Florence over 1500m on Thursday (June 10) against Olympic 1500m champion Faith Kipyegon and European champion Laura Muir.

Hassan’s world record for 10,000m of 29:06.82 only survived two days before being beaten by Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia. But nevertheless she is also the world champion at 1500m and 10,000m, having beaten Gidey over the longer distance to take the global gold in Doha in 2019.

Hassan said: “I’ve raced several times in the past at events in the UK – at the Anniversary Games in London, meetings in Birmingham and Glasgow and of course the 2017 World Championships and 2018 World Indoor Championships. There is always a warm welcome, a great atmosphere and the fans have good knowledge of the sport.

“Running over one mile in Gateshead on 13th July gives me a chance to test my speed ahead of the Olympic Games. Maybe I can run a good time too although much will depend on the weather. Hopefully it will be warmer and drier than it was for the Diamond League in Gateshead last month!”

Hassan was born in Ethiopia but moved to the Netherlands as a refugee aged 15. She first made her mark internationally when winning the European under-23 cross-country title in 2013 and since then has developed into one of the world’s top endurance runners with incredible ability that ranges from 1:56.81 for 800m through to a European half-marathon record of 65:15. What’s more, she holds world records for the one-hour run with 18,930m and women’s only 5km of 14:44, plus European records at 1500m, 3000m, 5000m and 10,000m.

Gateshead staged the first Wanda Diamond League event of 2021 after it was moved from Rabat in Morocco to the North East of England and now, on July 13, the same venue will host the seventh Diamond League of the season after it was moved from its original home of London.

(06/11/21) Views: 56
Athletics Weekly

Olympic organizers estimate 225,000 fans per day at Tokyo venues

The Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics organizing committee said Friday it has sold tickets for 42 percent of the venues' capacity and expects to see up to about 225,000 spectators per day in the Japanese capital if all ticket holders attend.

With the organizers set to draw up a plan this month on what to do regarding domestic spectators, Hidemasa Nakamura, the committee's games delivery officer, suggested the risk of having spectators could be limited, given that the number of ticket holders set to enter venues is estimated to be smaller than those visiting or commuting to the capital.

Speaking at a press conference, Nakamura said 70 percent of the tickets for events taking place in Tokyo and neighboring Chiba, Saitama and Kanagawa prefectures have been sold to people living in those areas.

The Japanese organizers and the International Olympic Committee have waited to decide on venue capacity for spectators in Japan after barring fans from overseas. However, medical experts have expressed concern that allowing fans could lead to the spread of the coronavirus as people travel to and from the venues.

On Friday, infectious disease expert Shigeru Omi, Japan's top COVID-19 adviser who has been critical of staging the Tokyo Games, told a parliamentary committee he will assess the risk of allowing spectators.

Omi, who heads a government subcommittee on the coronavirus, said the public will most likely be asked to follow anti-virus mitigation steps, including refraining from traveling to other prefectures, during the Olympics as they coincide with summer vacation.

With about 40 days to go before the Olympics opening ceremony, Tokyo has been under a state of emergency since late April to bring down the number of infections. Omi has said he plans to put together recommendations on staging the Olympics by June 20, the final day of the emergency.

Separately on Friday, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said a vaccination center will be set up at the metropolitan government building to inoculate officials and workers related to the Olympics.

About 2,500 shots will be administered per day starting June 18 to referees and staff working at games facilities including the athletes' village, Koike said.

The center will use Pfizer Inc. vaccine doses provided by the IOC for Japanese athletes and officials related to the games.

(06/13/21) Views: 56

Sara Hall wins New York Mini 10k in Central Park

Sara Hall completed the New York Mini 10K with the fastest time by an American in the history of the women-only event. 

Sara Hall won her second consecutive title at the Mastercard New York Mini 10K on Saturday, finishing the Central Park race in 31 minutes, 33 seconds. It was the fastest time by an American in the 49-year history of the women-only event.

Hall broke away from her nearest challengers late, holding off the Kenyan duo of Violah Cheptoo by six seconds and Monicah Ngige by 26.

“It feels so good to be back out here racing in New York City and have a real road race,” Hall said. “I’ve been looking forward to this so much. This is the momentum I needed for Olympic trials in two weeks.”

Lindsay Flanagan (32:09), U.S. Olympic marathoner Molly Seidel (32:13), and former New York City Marathon champion Edna Kiplagat (32:20) completed the top six.

Susannah Scaroni won her third straight event title in the wheelchair division, finishing in 22:44. Scaroni sprinted out early and cruised to victory ahead of flying to the U.S. Paralympic trials.

Five-time New York City Marathon champion Tatyana McFadden (25:22) was second for the third consecutive time and Yen Hoang (26:11), a college teammate of Scaroni and McFadden at Illinois, rounded out the podium.

There were about 3,000 runners in the field, the first regularly scheduled New York Road Runners race since the pandemic began.

(06/13/21) Views: 56

Missouri man returns for another ‘Grandma’s Double,’ running the course twice in one day

The first 25-26 miles are “the easy ones,” said Eric Strand, 60. “Then you have the benefit of aid stations, the crowd and fellow runners to commiserate with on the way back. It’s a fun way to get a training run in.”

Before runners hit the starting line, before volunteers set up aid stations and before the sun rises, Eric Strand is running Grandma’s Marathon.

Backwards. And then back again.

The “Grandma’s Double” is a long-running tradition for Strand. 

About 3 a.m. on race day, his wife drops him off in Canal Park. He runs 26.2 miles to Two Harbors — and joins the other marathoners for Round 2.

The first 25-26 miles are “the easy ones,” said Strand, 60. “Then you have the benefit of aid stations, the crowd and fellow runners to commiserate with on the way back. It’s a fun way to get a training run in.”

It started as a way to prepare for the 100-mile Leadville Trail ultramarathon. Grandma’s landed on a weekend that Strand needed to get in a 50-mile run. Instead of spreading it out, he decided to pack it into one day. 

“It was very interesting running the course backwards, especially when the bars had people filing out. You had an interesting crowd," Strand said in a 2012 News Tribune story.

Strand gets to see things other marathoners don’t: the race course waking up and volunteers getting ready, and some of the aid station captains are there every year. 

He has heard his fair share from passersby about going the wrong way, and it happens even more now. 

“They've all learned their lines,” he said with a laugh.

The Missouri man, formerly of St. Paul, grew up hearing about Grandma’s, but on New Year’s Eve before his 40th birthday, he registered for it.

He trained for six months and made every mistake. 

“There’s euphoria. You hit new distance markers … you get this in your mind that you are invincible. The next day, you wake up, and you have plantar fasciitis or shin splints or your knee hurts, and you very quickly realize you aren't,” Strand said.

But you slow down, heal up, maybe bike for a while and you get back to running, he added. 

Strand recalled the end of his first Grandma’s Marathon: “As I was enjoying the runner’s high, my kids reminded me that there were three 70-year-olds that beat me that day. It brought me down to earth; they’re really good at doing that.”

Strand said tying training into a race is one way to make it fun. He averages about 2,500 miles a year; that’s typically 7 miles a day, but sometimes, it’s 100 miles at a time.

Strand ran his first five Grandma’s Doubles solo, save for one year with Ben McCaux. Since then, he has been joined by his son, Zach. 

They’ve tackled the Double three times; they ran their first father-son Leadville 100 in 2017. 

In a 2017 video of the latter, the pair are seen trekking across Colorado terrain. 

“Zach’s doing great,” Eric Strand says into the camera. “He’s fun to run with. As long as he keeps his fueling and hydration in good shape, he’s down for a buckle.”

They have tallied 25 marathons and ultramarathons together. 

“He’s better than me now, which he’s quick to point out,” he said.

During training, Strand mostly listens to audiobooks, but, if he needs motivation, there’s Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus — music his kids listened to when they were teens. 

As for his powerhouse song, that’s Eminem’s “Lose Yourself.”

He doesn’t listen to anything during races; he likes to interact with others.

His race-day eats were pretty standard: Gatorade and gels; but for ultramarathons, his wife brings him a cheeseburger at mile 50. 

Saturday will be his 22nd Grandma’s Marathon — his 10th Grandma’s Double — and there’s no end in sight. 

There’s a cadence to the year — the Boston Marathon in April, Leadville in August, Chicago in October, a mix of others — but June will always be Duluth.

“There will be a day when I won’t be able to do this,” Strand said, “but it’s not today, and hopefully won’t be for a long time. I hope to enjoy it as long as I can.”

(06/16/21) Views: 56
Melinda Lavine